Romney gives $42,000 to Haley

Former Massachusetts GOP Gov. Mitt Romney has contributed $42,000 to Nikki Haley’s campaign for governor in South Carolina, POLITICO has learned.

Political action committees are typically capped at giving $3,500 per cycle, but lawyers for Romney’s Free and Strong America PAC discovered that multiple PACs sharing the same leadership and office space are able to contribute $3,500 each per cycle in South Carolina, according to a Romney source.

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With one federal PAC and five statewide PACs each maxing out at $3,500 for Haley in both the GOP primary and general elections, Romney has contributed a total of $42,000.

The tactic was approved by South Carolina’s Ethics Commission, which sent Romney’s PAC an opinion confirming their finding.

In addition to his federal PAC, Romney has statewide PACs set up in Alabama, Iowa, Michigan, New Hampshire and South Carolina.

“Endorsements are nice, but Governor Romney understands that money wins elections,” Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom told POLITICO. “He wanted to do everything he could to help Nikki Haley spread her conservative reform message and fend off negative attacks.”

Romney announced the contributions after stumping with Haley on Friday ahead of her runoff election Tuesday for the GOP’s gubernatorial nomination.

Haley spokesman Tim Pearson told POLITICO, “We appreciate everything that Governor and Mrs. Romney have done for the campaign - from coming out for Nikki when she was still, as she says, 'Nikki-who?', to traveling with us today, to the financial support. They've been a tremendous asset to the campaign, all the way around.”